Christmas Book Readathon 2023

[LaBlonde]

No pictures because people are here (ew). Im full up with flu and trying to appear civil whilst sat in the corner reading sorrow and bliss on my kindle. My reading buddy (cat) has snuck upstairs to hide from tiny humans. There’s a beige buffet but my stomach is churning so I’ve got a cup of tea.
I’m on page 142 and I’m all in my feels!

oh sorrow and bliss is such a beautiful book!! enjoy both it and your tea with your reading buddy

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

I am feeling rotten with this never ending cold thing that everyone seems to have. Been ill since the start of December Anyway Mr B has taken the weans out for a couple of hours so coffee in hand, determined to finish The Radium Girls. The writing style is a bit too fiction like for a history book, if you know what I mean? That's confusing my brain a little. Twice I've had to check that it's definitely a non-fiction book!

Still I'm on 56% and determined to finish it before the end of the year.

 

[Gem_woody]

I took leaf out of your books and read my book while drying my hair this morning

Reading The Retreat by Mark Edwards at the moment. Im not very gripped by it but im 60% of the way through and planning to finish it today to finish off the year on 74 books.

 

[nbt]

Trying to get in any reading time I can at the moment, so I’ve just read 11% of Baby It’s Cold Outside, whilst doing my hair

Hoping the kids will be engrossed in Lego for a while this afternoon so I can settle down properly with a blanket, drinks and snacks

 

[Tofino]

I’ve finished for now as mini Tofino has returned. I managed 25-76% with less than an hour to go so should finish it at bedtime.

I would finish books a lot quicker if I didn’t stop to google things and look places up on maps

 

[Tofino]

I finished the book, it actually finished at around 86% because there is a lot of references at the end.

Brilliant read if you like that kind of book (true event mountain tragedy). I found the authors final theory about what happened to the 9 hikers quite compelling.

 

[boopthatnose]

Love this! Particularly love the recognition of the importance of snacks

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

I'm back! Turns about 30% of the book was references and images so finished it quicker than I should have. It's a pretty grim story about the young women working as dial painters in the 1920s who were exposed to radium. Their fight for justice through unrelenting pain is quite humbling to read.

Random number generator has picked 66 which is Self & I. I had to look up what it was about but it sounds It's a memoir about a young writer who becomes an assistant to Wilf Self in the late 1990s. I think Self is quite an over rated arse of a writer so hoping lots of tea with this one.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

I am on my fourth readathon book.

I've finished

- The Other People, C.J. Tudor 4/5
- The Argument, Victoria Jenkins 3/5 - storyline was good, just found it drawn out a little.
- Let Me In, Claire McGowan, 3/5 I was loat for much of the storyline and found bits of entirely unbelievable.

I am now 126 pages into How to Disappear by Gillian McAllister. I find her books very hit and miss, but so far this seems good. One of those books I am always thinking about and trying to sneak a few pages in here and there.

 

[HoGi]

@nbt Cool to see I'm not the only person who reads when drying their hair. Although I do have a lovely crack on my Kindle screen thanks to dropping my hairdryer on it

Another person who reads whilst drying their hair over here

I'm a third through the year of the locust and I want to finish it today seeing as i started it in November! It's about 400 pages so I might have to lock my phone away to get through it.

 

[vanilla cupcakes]

I’ve had a big new years clean today so have got through almost 5 hours of The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston on audio. I loved The Seven Year Slip, not loving this one quite as much but definitely an enjoyable and easy listen

 

[nbt]

So I’ve realised that unless I get up early, the only reading time I’m getting at the moment is when I’m doing my hair and tomorrow morning me is thanking tonight me by washing my hair now, rather than in the morning.

However, I’ve just gone and turned my kindle on and I only have 10% so I will see what comes first - dry hair or my kindle dying. If I don’t get very far, I can use my phone I guess.

I’m still reading Happy New Year and I’m starting at 67%…

 

[smellsofbiscuits]

@nbt Cool to see I'm not the only person who reads when drying their hair. Although I do have a lovely crack on my Kindle screen thanks to dropping my hairdryer on it

 

[Thatgirl22]

Great idea, I’m in

 

[mindlessness]

Hi all! Have read two pretty mindless KU romances by Melanie Harlow over Christmas but otherwise The TV has been distracting me

 

[ordinaryjelly]

I am here for this!

 

[nbt]

@smellsofbiscuits oh no!! Thankfully no hair dryer accidents here, although I was once reading outside and put my kindle under my chair, and our old rabbit came and knocked my water over, straight onto the kindle thankfully it was waterproof!

I finished HNY decided just to keep reading as I definitely wanted to finish this year. I’ll come back tomorrow and post my 2024 goals and book list

 

[nbt]

Got in an hours reading this morning while others were still in bed.

I’m currently reading Happy New Year by Malin Stehn. I’d bought it just for a little filler book between Christmas and New Year but it’s gripped me.

I’ve just read 70 pages/16%. I do recommend it if anyone fancies a quick read over the last couple of days of the year.

I thought it was going to be a Whodunnit but it seems pretty obvious what’s happened… unless there’s a twist of course

I’m at 51% now and hoping to read more later.

 

[karry1412]

I finished the book, it actually finished at around 86% because there is a lot of references at the end.

Brilliant read if you like that kind of book (true event mountain tragedy). I found the authors final theory about what happened to the 9 hikers quite compelling.

Thanks for the update! I so nearly bought this today after you mentioned it. My finger might slip & order it tomorrow

 

[Tofino]

I actually hadn't even heard of it until you mentioned it & I went Googling. Do you think it's still worth a go?

Oh yes definitely. I didn’t know much about it beforehand, just that 9 hikers went missing in Russia in 1959 and then eventually found dead in unusual circumstances and various theories explored.

It’s written from three POVs - the authors investigation, the hikers story leading up to them going missing (they kept journals and a camera so there was quite a bit of info and photos putting the timeline together, plus accounts from others who met them) and then the search party timeline. I sometimes struggled with the switching between timelines but I think it probably was the best way to explain it all. Utterly tragic, they were all so young, but fascinating.